Topic
Mission
Every resource in the archive tagged with mission.
15 resources
Letter1997 Letter to Shareholders
Jeff Bezos
Mar 1998 · 7 min read
It's always Day 1: long-term market leadership matters more than quarterly profits or Wall Street approval.
EssayDon't Fuck Up the Culture
Brian Chesky
Apr 2014 · 3 min read
Why culture matters more than anything else — the letter Chesky sent the entire Airbnb team in 2013.
EssaySeek Wealth, Not Money or Status
Naval Ravikant
Feb 2019 · 6 min read
The difference between wealth, money, and status — and why only wealth buys freedom.
EssayEmployee Retention
Sam Altman
5 min read
Why keeping early employees matters more than hiring them, and three strategies that actually work.
EssayHow to Hire
Sam Altman
12 min read
Hiring is the most important thing a founder does; spend a third to half your time doing it well.
EssayBillionaires Build
Paul Graham
Dec 2020 · 15 min read
Becoming a billionaire requires building something people genuinely want, not exploiting them.
EssayWhen to Do What You Love
Paul Graham
Sep 2024 · 7 min read
When to pursue work you love versus work that pays well depends on your ambitions and the actual odds of success in your chosen field.
VideoJeff Bezos’s two pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Jeff Bezos
Mar 2026 · 1 min read
Why entrepreneurs shouldn't chase the hot thing — position for the wave, then wait.
EssayA Good Place to Work
Ben Horowitz
Aug 2012 · 12 min read
Good companies survive crises because employees stay when they like their work, making culture an end in itself.
Letter2020 Letter to Shareholders — Farewell
Jeff Bezos
Apr 2021 · 25 min read
Real value creation is measured by wealth generated for all stakeholders—not just shareholders—and innovation is the root of it all.
EssayAbout
Patrick Collison
1 min read
A founder's core commitments: economic growth, climate, housing, and the institutions built to advance them.
EssayValue Is Created By Doing
Sam Altman
3 min read
Most work that feels busy—meetings, networking, talking—doesn't create value; only execution does.
EssayHard Startups
Sam Altman
2 min read
Hard startups attract talented people because they offer missions worth committing to; easy startups are starved of the talent that matters.
EssayMean People Fail
Paul Graham
Nov 2014 · 5 min read
Meanness correlates with startup failure because it costs you talent and prevents the transcendent thinking startups require.
EssayCities and Ambition
Paul Graham
May 2008 · 16 min read
Where you live shapes your ambition more than you'd expect—each city broadcasts what to want.